Taunton's sewer systems receiving an upgrade

The city’s aging sewer infrastructure is getting a major upgrade, as workers are in the midst of a project to repair and replace failing pipes across the city.

Gerry Tuoti

The city’s aging sewer infrastructure is getting a major upgrade, as workers are in the midst of a project to repair and replace failing pipes across the city.

On Monday, workers replaced a 111-year-old pipe under Cedar Street.

"It’s an old clay pipe that was cracked and falling apart," said Joe Federico, vice president of Beta Engineering, which is performing much of the work.

Federico said the work is part of a larger project to prevent the city’s sewer system from overflowing into the Taunton River. When groundwater and rainwater seeps through cracks in the underground pipes, he explained, it often causes the system to overflow. There is an overflow pipe on West Water Street that leads into the Taunton River.

"When it rains, that pipe overflows, so the city has an administrative order from the EPA to eliminate as much of the groundwater and rainwater that gets into system as we can," Federico said.

The overall project started in 2005, and work on Phase 7 of the project began earlier this month.

"It’s part of the work to reline, repair and replace sewers around the city," Taunton Water Superintendent Cathal O’Brien said.

If a pipe is only slightly damaged, workers can fit it with a plastic liner to prevent water from seeping in. That process, Federico said, will be done on Hopewell Street. Pipes in a greater state of deterioration, such as the clay pipe under Cedar Street, are generally replaced.

To date, the project has eliminated 4.5 million gallons of infiltration and inflow, Federico said.

In addition to replacing and repairing damaged pipes, the workers are also eliminating the few remaining old pipes that lead into the Mill and Taunton rivers. Before a waste water treatment plant was built in the 1950s, it was common for sewer pipes to empty directly into the rivers, Federico said.

"A lot of older cities and towns throughout the country are going through the same problems Taunton is," he said.